This book has been replaced by Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder, Third Edition, ISBN 978-1-4625-5712-7. . "The book is of high quality and would be of help to any family facing this difficult situation." (on the first edition) ― Doody's Review Service Published On: 2005-08-26 "There are many red flags that parents should recognize when it comes to their adolescent daughter or son's eating habits, and this intelligent book points them out clearly and concisely." (on the first edition) ― Publishers Weekly Published On: 2005-01-31 . Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder By James Lock, Daniel Le Grange The Guilford Press Copyright © 2015 The Guilford Press All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4625-1796-1 Contents Cover, Praise for Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder, Also from James Lock and Daniel Le Grange, Title Page, Copyright Page, Dedication Page, Introduction, PART I GETTING STARTED, Chapter 1 Act Now, Chapter 2 Get Together, Chapter 3 Don't Waste Time on "Why?", PART II UNDERSTANDING EATING DISORDERS, Chapter 4 Know What You're Dealing With, Chapter 5 Get Into Your Child's Head, Chapter 6 Understand Your Options, PART III MAKING TREATMENT WORK, Chapter 7 Taking Charge of Change, Chapter 8 Playing a Supporting Role, Chapter 9 Harnessing the Power of Unity, Chapter 10 Staying Empowered and Informed, Resources, Further Reading, Index, About the Authors, About Guilford Press, Discover Related Guilford Books, CHAPTER 1 Act Now You don't know what to do. Thirteen-year-old Sheila has been losing weight for 6 months. At first you thought it was normal teenage dieting. But she's too thin now. She has stopped eating with you but insists on cooking everything for the whole household. Last week she made four desserts but wouldn't eat any of them. She has a book with a list of the calories in everything most of us eat, but she doesn't need it anymore because she knows it by heart. Besides, at present, she eats only three things: raw vegetables, tofu, and dry cereal. She's still doing well in school. Her straight As, though, seem more of a burden than a source of accomplishment to her. When she isn't studying, she's going for a run or doing sit-ups. She ignores calls from her friends and seems more and more depressed. When you try to encourage her to eat, she fumes and says it's none of your business. She insists she's fine. You don't know what to do. You caught 17-year-old Donna throwing up. She said she was sick. But it wasn't the first time. You have heard her before. Always heading off to the bathroom after every meal. She says it was nothing—she only had an upset stomach. You've noticed she hardly eats breakfast or lunch, but when you come home in the evening, lots of food is gone from the pantry, especially cookies, potato chips, and bread. You've had to go to the store midweek to restock. One of her friends told you she was worried about Donna. You are too. You don't know what to do. Tom used to be a great high school diver. He's too weak now to perform his toughest dives. He eats only protein bars and fruit drinks. He is constantly exercising to get perfect abdominal muscles, but you can see his ribs. He says he's still too fat. Where there used to be muscle, there's mostly bone and skin now. At first his coach complimented Tom on his weight loss because it had improved his dive entries. Now the coach has called you and suggested Tom take a leave from the team. Tom's best friend called him "skeleton" to tease him, but you know he's worried too. You don't know what to do. Should you do something? This is the first problem you face if you're concerned that your son or daughter may have an eating disorder. You know most eating problems in children are transient. You remember lots of struggles over junk food and sweets with your other children, or you've seen it in other families. Many children commonly go through periods of being picky eaters, eating more than usual, eating less than usual, and even complaining about upset stomachs or having periods of mild digestive problems and constipation. You've asked other parents and relatives about these types of behaviors and learned that, although usually short-lived, eating problems are nearly universal. As children enter puberty, many, especially girls, are very much interested in their appearance and weight and may try dieting or other weight-loss strategies. You expect this because you know it's normal to become more concerned about appearance in the teenage years and because you've known your son's or daughter's friends to express similar thoughts and engage in the same types of behavior. You don't want to create a problem where there isn't one. How do you know if there's a real problem? If you think your child's thoughts and behaviors resemble those of Sheila, Donna, or Tom, however, it's time to take action to help. Left untreated, eating disorders can lead to chro